The clinical revolution of the ‘wise baby’

In an historical context focused on a close examination of the complex relationship between Freud and Ferenczi, the author shows Ferenczi's contribution to the evolution of psychoanalysis. He describes how his ideas and his therapeutic sensitivity anticipated modern clinical thought (for example, Winnicott and Bion), especially the understanding of borderline and narcissistic pathology. The paper considers the following topics: transference and countertransference; early affectivity; the different psychic trauma; phenomena connected with dissociation; the healing factor of the analysis.     

Work Meaning Patterns in Early Career

Abstract

Work meaning patterns combine dimensions such as work centrality, expressive versus economic work goals, and entitlement versus obligation societal norms into a holistic picture of the evolution over time of the meaning of work. Data from a longitudinal study in eight countries are used to establish major work meaning patterns and to study their stability during early career paths. Further, some potential determinants of these work meaning patterns are analysed and their consequences for later careers are considered. Statistical analyses include: cluster analysis, multiple discriminant analysis, analysis of covariance combined with multiple classification analysis, analysis of variance, and chi-square analysis. Five cross-national work meaning patterns are identified for machine operators in their third year in the labour market. One-third of the sample had remained in the same work meaning pattern for 2 years, while two-thirds had changed their work pattern. Respondents' age, country, prior work environment, and prior work socialization behaviours and outcomes have an impact on work meanings held 2 years later. In addition the respondent's work meaning pattern allows subsequent career enhancing strategies and effort expenditure at the job to be predicted.     

The Use of Priority Information in Performance Feedback

To provide the most value to an organization, individuals must focus efforts on those outputs that have maximum value to the organization. However, the realities of the workplace are that information about performance and how individuals can add value to an organization is complex; that is, determining which activities to focus on is a fairly complex task because such information is nonlinear, whereby the importance of a certain activity may change depending on the level of performance at any given time. This article empirically examines whether providing complex, nonlinear feedback that reflects the complexities of the real world will result in a change in work outputs that reflect these nonlinearities. This article assesses whether employees can and do use complex feedback that reflects the complexity of the real world in the intended ways. In addition, this article examines whether individuals use feedback that includes priority information beyond feedback that reports on simple relative importance. Data were analyzed from 9 work units for time periods averaging a little over a year. Results indicate that, as predicted, when individuals have access to both complex, nonlinear priority information and simple, linear relative importance information, individuals can and do use the complex data in the intended way.     

La percepción de la conducta agresiva: Un estudio taxonómico de las diferencias inter e intraculturales

Resumen

El presente artículo tiene corno principal objetivo ser una alternativa a las tradicionales clasificaciones teóricas de la agresión e, incluso, a los estudios taxonómicos empíricos más recientes. Usar estímulos no representativos, ofrecer indicios sobre las dimensiones de juicios preseleccionados, etc. son algunos de los inconvenientes que no permiten considerar a estas dimensiones perceptuales de la agresión como fiables. En este trabajo se pretenden superar estas y otras críticas con el fin de proporcionar las verdaderas dimensiones que subyacen a la percepción social de los episodios agresivos cotidianos. El Escalamiento Multidimensional (Modelo IÑDSCAL) fue seleccionado como el análisis más apropiado para proponer una taxonomía empírica adecuada y comprobar hasta qué punto una misma taxonomía es compartida por diferentes subculturas (Universitaria y Reclusa). El análisis de los datos nos permitió concluir acerca de la existencia de un dominio psicológico en 4 dimensiones para percibir un conjunto de estímulos agresivos, de la existencia de ciertas diferencias entre ambas submuestras y, por último, de la homogeneidad existente dentro de una misma muestra, independientemente de algunas variables de personalidad previamente seleccionadas.     

Esfuerzo y decremento de vigilancia en tareas de discriminación sucesiva y simultánea

Resumen

El objetivo del experimento presentado en este artículo fue probar la hipótesis de que el decremento de sensibilidad en tareas de atención sostenida, ocurre porque los recursos atencionales o esfuerzo que demanda la tarea no pueden matenerse durante un tiempo prolongado. Comparamos dos tareas que diferían en carga de memoria y registramos tres grupos de índices de esfuerzo o gasto atencional: rendimiento en una tarea secundaria concurrente, esfuerzo subjetivo y actividad cardiovascular (IBI medio y amplitud espectral del componente 0.10 Hz). En ambas tareas observamos un declive significativo a lo largo del tiempo en eficiencia o ritmo de procesamiento, indicado por la razón entre la precisión y la velocidad. Los datos acerca del esfuerzo subjetivo y el rendimiento en la tarea secundaria no parecen apoyar la hipótesis original. El principal hallazgo fue que la actividad cardiovascular al comienzo de la tarea, medida por la amplitud del componente 0.1 Hz, era un predictor significativo del decremento de eficiencia en ambas tareas de vigilancia. Si esta amplitud es un índice fisiológico fiable de atención, nuestro resultado sugiere que un procesamiento controlado, con esfuerzo, al comienzo de la tarea previene el decremento de vigilancia.     

Values and Antisocial Behavior Among Spanish Adolescents

A number of studies have indicated that delinquent adolescents have characteristic value systems. However, most of these studies have adopted a “known-groups” design—that is, they have compared institutionalized delinquents and non-institutionalized adolescents, assuming those adolescents to be non-delinquent. Designs of this type do not distinguish effectively between the statistical effects of delinquency and of institutionalization. In this study, the authors investigated relationships between values and self-reported antisocial behavior in three adolescent groups: 435 school-attending boys, 529 school-attending girls, and 95 delinquent boys in juvenile rehabilitation centers or prisons. The results indicate that antisocial behavior is associated with hedonistic values and a lack of interest in conventional values and social values. These relationships cannot be explained by the institutionalization effects.     

Full naming with bi-dimensional abstract stimuli in six-year-old children

The aim of this study was to evaluate a procedure to reveal the emergence of full naming in typically developing children. In Experiment 1, five 6-year-old children (a) learned tacts of pictures and the emergence of the selection of these pictures upon hearing their names was tested; and (b) the selection of other pictures was taught and the emergence of the tacts was tested. All children showed the emergence of picture selection and 3 children showed the emergence of the tacts. In Experiment 2a, the children's correct repetition of the names of 3 pictures was verified first, then the experimenter presented the pictures with their names without requiring any behavior other than attending. Finally, the emergence of picture selection and the tacts was tested. Experiment 2b replicated Experiment 2a with words that were easier to pronounce. Picture selection and the tacts emerged; this performance documented full naming for the first time with typically developing children. These procedures can be used to induce naming capacity in children who lack it; hence, they can be applied to teach children with learning delays.